The match has been struck, the kindling has caught fire, a brush fire is blazing, and soon the DR Congo will be on fire with the message of Salvation through Jesus Christ. In August 2017 Bishop Aynaki Moksi found out about SHARE Evangelism and inserted its training into an existing conference with only one week’s notice. From there it has caught on and is growing into an effective self-supporting, self-sustaining church planting movement. The following account comes directly from the field with only minor edits. The account includes all the organizational details in the hopes that others will find encouragement and help to organize in their own places. It amazes me that all this has happened in only three or four months. I stand in awe of how God works with such efficiency through willing hearts and hands.

My dear friend, Aynaki, told me on October 25, 2017, “I met a student yesterday who completed the SHARE Evangelism training. She was using her training in her place. She gave me testimony of how SHARE transformed lives and community to bring people to Jesus. Her testimony challenged me to go see really what God is doing through SHARE.” During the month to follow, Aynaki visited various places to follow up on SHARE projects. He exclaimed that it “is a great work with mighty exploits.” Aynaki continues, “I plan to send first life change histories of what God is doing through SHARE Evangelism History Makers.” These are the life stories of women who are leaving their marks on the community using SHARE Evangelism. They are the SHARE History Makers.

Therese Kibasa from Baragumu, DR Congo exclaimed, “SHARE Evangelism has contributed to transform my environment from the place I want to leave to the place I want to live.”

“Through the use of SHARE Evangelism and SHARE Micro-Credit: Muslims, prostitutes, pagans give their lives daily to Christ.” The financing of 10 to 20 micro-projects each week continues to build the hope of poor families by meeting their needs for food, health and children’s schooling, of the beneficiary members. An unusual situation has arisen because the pastors often send us [trained SHARE evangelists] to go to preach, but now thanks to the use of SHARE Evangelism in the community, micro-finance is starting to produce effects; it is the people in the community who are starting to SHARE Evangelism RD Congo officials.”

The following is the account of the founding and organization of SHARE Institute, International, RD Congo, using SHARE Evangelism. This can serve as a guide and encouragement to others who may want to do this in their place.

INTRODUCTION

SHARE Institute, International, in collaboration with Testimony of Christ International, had successfully launched SHARE Evangelism training, beginning August 17, 2017. After four rounds of training [10-12 hours each] in different places, it has become necessary to measure the impact that has resulted. Three hundred fifteen leaders from churches, local Christian authorities, and Christian associations and community groups, participated with success completion of the courses.

At the present time we are interested in conducting a field trip aimed at an evaluation of this course. The main purpose is to provide a strategic review of the project’s performance as of the date of the evaluation. Our goal is to:

Evaluate all progress (or lack of progress) and detect preliminary signs of success or failure through life stories;

Validate (or complete) the model/design of this training;

Evaluate the relevance of the training;

Examine the management of the training in order to ensure its alignment with the achievement of outcomes and the execution of activities;

Evaluate the degree of satisfaction of the various stakeholders and beneficiaries according to the results achieved at the time of the evaluation;

Determining factor in the time of the evaluation: This assessment takes place four months after the start of the training and the process resulting from it.

PHASE 1: The life story of Therese Kibasa, founder of Baragumu group

Miss Therese Kibasa, founder of Baragumu group, repeated her earlier statement, “SHARE Evangelism training helped to transform the lives of our beneficiaries (individually) and our place from the place we wanted to leave, to the place we want to live. Miss Kibasa studies medicine in Uvira (RD Congo) but she also received training in several courses in community development. She had a passion for those who live without Christ, so she was always looking for ways to reach many people with the Gospel without success. At the same time, she was uncomfortable with her church, because it seemed to be constantly asking for money without any visible returns. To her it looked like a market. The aspect of funds provoked an inner revolt because there was no alternative. The purpose of the church is not to serve only the leadership and certain faithful members. Miss Kibasa wanted to see the Gospel touch the needs of the poor faithful in all their dimensions at the spiritual, physical and emotional level. The church should be a place that unites the faithful, where mutual help, compassion, communion and cooperation reign. The weak and the poor have a place in such a church. Others were also sensing problems and began leaving that church.

Then everything changed! Miss Kibasa, being led by the Spirit, began her preparations to abandon that church. On her planned last Sunday, the pastor announced the SHARE Evangelism training. In the announcement he asked the congregation three key questions:

Are you looking for a way to reach people who have not heard the Good News of Jesus?

Do you have a loving heart for those who live in poverty and do not seem to find a way out?

Do you need economic relief?

The pastor concluded that the answer to these three questions lies in the training of SHARE Evangelism.

At the last hour of leaving and completely abandoning the church (of the place she wanted to leave), these three questions touched her heart. She decided to temporarily suspend her plan to leave until after the training. She thought if the training did not answer the tree questions posed by the pastor, she would leave. She enrolled in the training and found her answers there.

“During the training and after the training, I found SHARE Evangelism as an indispensable tool to witness Christ through vocational training, witnessing Christ through work, and planting churches. Evangelism is the priority, and so are the means to support the disadvantaged of our community and the poor who are in the churches.”

“My three dear questions which the Pastor has posed thus find an answer thanks to the training evangelism. The Holy Spirit has opened my mind to understand what is happening in the Church and to put into service the work of God and the talent which God has given me in order to reach many people who have not heard the Gospel and help those who live in poverty. I testify that SHARE Evangelism has transformed the place I wanted to leave into the place that I want to live. Today I work with church leaders in the work of sharing the Gospel and generating income for myself, the church and the community with SHARE Evangelism.”

PHASE 2: Global problems require global solution of Community Evangelism and Microcredit to Transform individuals and the Community.

In the training, SHARE Evangelism taught us that evangelism is the priority and the skills serve as bridges or point of contact. Personally, I have found that there are other essential elements that are missing to successfully carry out God’s work through SHARE Evangelism.

I found that sharing the Gospel in practice also requires money. For those who receive the Gospel it is free according to the Bible; but for those who will preach the Gospel he must first pay the cost of transportation, food communication, tools necessary for practice.

This idea was the point of life that all the participants saw in the same way, because in the situation of poverty that the countries of the Great Lakes cross sometimes found only $10 of displacement from one place to another is a big problem because the population lives below $1 a day.

The main problem according to Miss Therese is poverty and the solution is money. It is essential to help people who preach in practice and in practice find a way to find money to carry out their missions successfully. Mademoiselle Therese and her team decided to mobilize, and mobilize the support of others to find the solution to this problem. Their vision was to touch by the Gospel, witness of Christ and the skill of many people: “There were among us women and men with passion for those who live without Christ but lacked means to fulfill this mission.”

“It was essential to find a solution for this problem.”

PHASE 3: Micro-credit–Macro Impact for the overall response

Miss Therese had received training in entrepreneurship and community microcredit. She decided to work with poor women in the community to form SHARE – Savings and Credit Union. Today she is in charge of nine (9) SHARE – Caisses d’Epargne de Credit which brings together 270 women in the South Kivu Province. She has developed Christian leadership and has shown the way to learn and connect with women in difficult circumstances in the community that promotes SHARE Evangelism through community microcredit. The development of using SHARE Evangelism through micro credit has opened up the opportunity for poor women usually excluded from the traditional banking system, to benefit from weak loans.

The services offered are:

SHARE Micro – credit for income-generating activities;

SHARE Micro – credit agricultural

SHARE Compassion (helping members in difficult situations)

The amount received allows beneficiaries to create and finance their income-generating activities. Women are the first beneficiary of community micro-credit service. The initiative funds between 10 to 20 micro-projects per week presented by women, ranging from $30 to $50 per individual and per individual micro-project. God granted them grace to the people of the community, and the members who receive Christ increases daily.

This micro-credit community service is realized with the contributions of SHARE Micro-credit with the support of certain leaders of the community. “Through the use of SHARE Evangelism and SHARE Micro-Credit Muslims, prostitutes, pagans give their lives daily to Christ.”

The financing of 10 to 20 micro-projects each week continues to build the hope of poor families by meeting the food, health and schooling needs of the children of the beneficiary members. An unusual situation has arisen because the Pastors often send us to go to preach, but now thanks to the use of SHARE Evangelism by the community micro-finance is starting to produce effects; it is the people in the community who are starting to come and get the SHARE Evangelism RD Congo officials. ”

These are the first three phases of SHARE History Makers–the history of life that continues to mark our community through micro credit opportunities. Soon we will report on how the SHARE micro credit beneficiary members have used their skills through the money received to bring others to Christ.

Ten to 20 small loans, ranging from $30 to $50 per individual project, are issued each week to members of the SHARE Micro Credit Union. There have also been members who have banded together to qualify for a larger amount to invest in tools and equipment. Keep watching as the the SHARE Evangelism team continues to fan the flames of the Gospel across RD Congo.

In the two previous posts I shared with you how SHARE was being established in the DR Congo. Bishop Aynaki Moksi and his team are tireless teachers. Everywhere they go the find places to teach the principle of sharing Christ through sharing skills. If you can find some shade and mats or low wooden benches to sit on, you can share what you know with those who need to know. The following pictures say more than words, so I will let them speak.

After the Christians receive the training and earn their certificates, they immediately head out to places near and far. A common way of travel is still trekking as shown below.

Soon they will arrive at their destinations. We pray together for them as they set out in faithful service, watching for the great moving of God.